Options Weighed On Proposals For Building Projects

August 16, 1999|By DON STACOM; Courant Staff Writer

ENFIELD — One project in the much-discussed $80 million total of construction proposals could cost more than expected, but local taxpayers would be on the hook for only two-thirds of the cost, school officials reported.

The cost of renovating the deteriorating Higgins building into school administrative offices initially was estimated at $5 million, but school officials say a thorough job -- including a small expansion -- would run closer to $7.9 million.

Several town council members are eager to have the Higgins building, a Thompsonville landmark, gutted and converted to office space for school administrators. They've suggested that the work can be done for about $5 million, with roughly $1.7 million of that being paid by the state Department of Education. That would leave Enfield taxpayers covering the remaining $3.3 million.

But in a recent report, school Facilities Director Art Pongratz repeated a point he's made throughout the year: The building isn't sufficient to house the equipment for the school system's maintenance and engineering staff. The solution would be to construct a smaller building elsewhere on the Higgins property, school officials have said.

In his report, Pongratz estimated the new building would cost $2.7 million, with the state paying about $930,000.

Pongratz's report offers an option for phasing in the extensive school construction that educators want. His suggestion is to expand three elementary schools and construct a Head Start building in 2000-2001, expand five more elementary schools and the JFK Middle School in 2002- 2003, build the proposed $35 million middle school in 2004-2005, and schedule the Higgins renovation and construction for 2006-2007.

In all, the work would cost an estimated $78.6 million. However, Pongratz estimates that the state would pay $45 million of that -- leaving Enfield to cover only $33.6 million.

In addition to the school construction and Higgins work, the council is looking to propose a $5 million senior center in the Nov. 2 referendum. If the Higgins addition is factored in, that would push the total of the referendum proposals above $83 million.

The town council will discuss the referendum options Tuesday night, and plans to set the final questions for the ballot by the end of this month.